Roadside 'Tyrant' A Common Sight On Country Drives Focus On Nature

It's known as Tyrannus tyrannus scientifically - doubly emphasizing the tyrant-like qualities of this common roadside bird.

To most of us, its common name of "eastern kingbird" is more readily recognized, yet both its Latin and English titles describe this handsome and courageous creature.

I watched one perform recently along a back road between Coopersburg and Limeport. It was most interested in flitting from its utility wire perch in pursuit of insects, and it returned after each foray to rest and watch for more winged food.

But a nearby redwing made the mistake of getting too close to the pugnacious kingbird and was quickly driven from the territory near where, I assume, its nest was located. The normally aggressive redwing retreated without a fight - probably having learned to respect the "tyrant" in previous encounters.

But to the kingbird, the redwing is merely a warmup for the real challenges that it undertakes in a day's work. Not only do kingbirds challenge redwings, robins, grackles and jays, but it's not unusual to see one harassing crows, owls and hawks. There's even a documented case of one overzealous kingbird trying to chase off a low-flying airplane.

Along with the phoebe, the wood peewee and the myriad of flycatchers that dwell in North America, the kingbird is a member of the Tyrannidae family - the "tyrant flycatchers." Nearly all of them are insect eaters and most of them are garbed in somewhat somber colors.

Our roadside kingbird is no exception.

Kodachromes of kingbirds do them little more justice than black-and-white photos. Yet, they are handsome birds in their formal dress of black coats, white vests and white-tipped tails.

Artists, bent on making the kingbird more colorful, usually paint both the male and the female with their brilliant scarlet crowns showing. The truth of the matter is that an observer needs to be at just the right angle to view this hidden feature. About the only time the feathers are properly arranged to allow a person to see the fiery stripe atop the head is when there's fire in the kingbird's eyes as well. I have only seen it myself a few times - each of those when it was attacking another bird and on one other occasion when a road-killed kingbird was studied in hand.

Actually, the kingbird isn't all that pugnacious. But, like some people, it is very possessive about its property, and trespassers are properly - and immediately - driven off.

The kingbird was once considered vermin and shot at every opportunity. It was believed that the bird ate honeybees in abundance, but this was later proven to be untrue. They were known as "bee birds" in some places. Although they will occasionally pluck small wild fruits or even little caterpillars hanging on silken threads, thekingbird; s diet is 90 percent flying insects. True to character, they will even take to such mouthfuls as large butterflies and big-winged dragonflies.

Although some kingbirds take their winter retreats in the Mexico southlands, most of them prefer South America. In early April they begin to move northward with the martins and swallows, and by mid-May they have made their way to their summer nesting grounds.

Hereabouts, there aren't many roadside grass fields without at least one pair of "tyrants" in residence right now. Another popular nesting area is the border of a lake or pond. I even photographed one kingbird nest on a protruding stump, no more than two feet above the water, on Lake Maskenozha in Pike County. Fishermen often see them flitting atop the water catching aquatic insects as they leave their watery nurseries. Should a bass angler get too close for the kingbird's liking, the angler, too, may become a target for the bird's wrath.

Kingbirds build shallow nests with a family-room view of a stream, pond or roadway. Here, in a nest composed of tiny rootlets and sticks, four or five creamy, white, blotched eggs are laid. Two weeks later, the birds hatch and then take their time growing as mom and dad make constant trips back to home base with food.

But when it's time for the youngsters to make it on their own, all feeding and eating is done on the wing. This swallow-like in-flight refueling operation is believed to provide the young with practice for the fast flight and quick maneuvering necessary for catching their own prey - and, of course, for driving off other winged trespassers.

The fledgling kingbirds closely resemble their parents, except for the absence of the red crown feathers. This follows the general biological principle that when parent birds are alike in plumage coloration, the young birds closely resemble them. Species in which the parents do not share their looks - the male being bright and the female dull - have young that will most often resemble the female.

In addition to a battle cry that can best be written as killy-killy-killy, the kingbird also includes a sharp chattering sound and a series of rolling notes with a musical phoebe-like ending in its repertory.

In another month or so, nearly all of the fledgling kingbirds will be on their own - taking basic courses from their parents in food catching and trespasser eviction.

Watch for these interesting roadside "tyrants" on your next country drive.

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Tom Fegely is on vacation. Today's column is a reprint of a previously published article. Watch for "The Best of Focus On Nature," a compilation of columns written since 1974, scheduled for publication in early fall.